


Gossip

by Flufferdoodle



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - High School Teachers, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Fluff, M/M, Teacher Percy, teacher Annabeth, teacher jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flufferdoodle/pseuds/Flufferdoodle
Summary: Students gossip about their teachers as teachers gossip about students, and every now and then someone manages to hit the mark.





	Gossip

“Do you think if I name my future son Jason he’ll end up like Mr. Grace?” Leo asked, staring at the sky. Piper sat up next to him, laughing and clutching at her sides.

“And I’ll name mine Perseus, and they’ll have an epic bromance?” she asked, sucking in air between chuckles.

“I swear after they retire they’re just gonna move out to some cabin in the woods and study frogs all day,” Leo stated. “And Ms. Chase’ll be the poor soul to check up on them every now and then and actually bring them food.”

“Oh please, Grace would cook. He made the class macarons one day since they were a symbol in some book, and damn they were _good_.” Piper frowned across the yard. “Man, when are they gonna retire? How old are they, anyways? Thirty? Forty?”

“Hell if I know. Jackson’s already graying.”

“Yeah, well, Reyna’s dad went gray in his twenties, that’s not necessarily an indicator.”

“Hm. Well, whenever it is, they’re gonna move out to a cabin in the woods. Calling it now. And they’ll study frogs and play old video games and talk about their ‘good ol’ days’ and it’ll be great.”

Piper nodded, smiling.

 

\--

 

Percy leaned back in his chair, throwing his feet up onto his desk. His incredibly messy, disgusting desk, with stacks of late assignments on one side and half-graded tests on the other. A week-old half-empty can of coke rested dangerously next to the edge, ready to topple at the slightest nudge. Fresh air breezed through the classroom, every now and then swiping papers off of bookshelves and desks.

Jason made a face as he strode into the classroom, but it was difficult to take him seriously with the Superman lunchbox dangling at his side. The English teacher pulled up a student desk across from Percy’s and pulled out the usual - a turkey-and-swiss sandwich, an apple, and a protein bar. He watched, amused, as Percy ducked under his desk and pulled out a should’ve-been-refrigerated leftover lasagna container and popped it into the microwave behind him.

The two did nothing but appreciate the low hum of the microwave and chatter of students in the courtyard below for a moment. Then, the microwave beeped, Percy grabbed his probably-spoiled lunch, and laughed.

“Man, you wouldn’t believe what I caught that Drew girl doing today,” he said, sitting up. Jason raised his eyebrows. “Alright, so Piper leaves mid-way through class to go to the bathroom, right? Bathroom’s right there, across the hall, she goes, comes back, all in the count of thirty seconds, and her face is _red_. Asks me to go check on the girl’s room. I tell her I can’t, laws and all, but I’ll go grab Annabeth right, and Annabeth rolls her eyes and goes in there, flips her shit, I’m standing outside the door and I can make out every high-level curse she can utter and out she comes, Drew and some football star trailing, Drew’s bra dangling out of her inside-out shirt and mini skirt still all up and the poor-”

“So Annabeth caught them, not you,” Jason pointed out. “Or Piper, really.”

Percy rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You would’ve thought that after Pipes walked in on them they would’ve thrown on some clothes, right? I was never that wild in high school.”

“No, you just flirted with girls under the bleachers and held their hands and puked when one kissed you,” Jason teased.

“Low blow, man, low blow. Anyways, Drew’s failing my class right now and doesn’t have any other sciences to make up for it, so she’s not graduating.”

“We knew that anyways, Percy. She’s not exactly passing history either.”

Percy shrugs. “Good stuff, though. When do you think the Di Angelo boy’s gonna come out of the closet? My money’s by the end of the month.”

“He already has. He went to the gay-straight alliance meeting yesterday.”

“ _What?_ And you didn’t tell me?”

“It was _yesterday!_ Chill out.”

Percy groaned, tossing his half-eaten meal, tub and all, into the wastebasket. He was about to whine at his friend more when a student stepped in.

Jason pursed his lips, tempted to comment on dress code as Nyssa approached the two of them, wariness, confidence and insecurity married as they only can be in a teenager. Her tank top wasn’t revealing, of course, high-necked and full-backed, but sleeveless was sleeveless. Percy clearly didn’t give a shit. He was there to teach, he insisted, and the kids could do whatever the hell they wanted.

Jason felt differently. Rules were rules, late work was not to be accepted _especially_ in his advanced  classes, and-

“How can I help ya, Nyssa?”

“Uh, Mr. Jackson, you entered a zero in the gradebook on an assignment I turned in,” she said, hand awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. “You just entered it last night, and I wanted to make sure… you got it, I guess.”

“Huh. The evolution packet?”

“Yeah…”

Percy started looking through his papers. “Check your backpack,” he ordered. Jason casually stood and wandered over to Percy’s demo table.

“This it?” he asked, presenting it to the two of them.

“Yeah! Yep, that one’s mine,” Nyssa said, heading over. Percy frowned.

“You sure you gave it to me? I think I would’ve remembered seeing it up there earlier…”

“Yeah, this morning,” Nyssa assured him.

“Hm. Alright. I’ll enter it in later. Thanks, Nyssa.”

The girl smiled before running off. Jason scowled

“How much you wanna bet she just left it there when I ran off to the bathroom second period and just lied to my face for five minutes straight?” Percy asked, kicking his feet back up on the desk.

“And you’re just gonna accept it?”

“Yeah, man. So it goes.”

“You let them get away with too much.”

“Dude, you remember what high school was like.”

 

\---

 

“Okay, okay, but like, didn’t Mr. Jackson divorce his wife like the year after Grace started working here?” Mitchell demanded, ducking as a frisbee sailed over his head. Leo paused.

“Mr. Jackson was _married_?”

“Yeah. Redheaded middle school art teacher. That’s what my mom said, at least, and she’s the French teacher over at East High,” Mitchell explained. “And then Mr. Grace started working here and they divorced.”

“No, he and Ms. Dare are friends I thought,” Piper said, frowning. “Like, at the district Christmas party last year they were talking.”

“Yeah, but they would’ve divorced, like, forever ago, right? So makes sense that they got over it and get along now,” Mitchell insisted. “No, Mr. Jackson got divorced after he started working with Mr. Grace.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Mitchell, a lot goes on between two people. I doubt that Mr. Grace had _anything_ to do with it.”

“Mr. Grace once said he spends more time with Jackson than he does with his wife,” Leo added, shrugging.

“Mr. Grace doesn’t have a wife,” Piper pointed out.

“What?”

“He doesn’t have a wife!”

“Then why did he say-”

“Leo, that was Coach Hedge who said that about having to spend time with Grace and Jackson both. Jeez.”

Leo huffed. “So sue me. Also, like Hedge is one to complain. He’s the one who insists on such long practice hours.”

“Whatever, Leo.”

 

\---

 

Percy patiently listened as Malcolm listed his concerns, sensing the child was on the verge of a breakdown. Malcolm was the typical overachiever, signed up for way too many AP classes this year and involved in every extracurricular he could fit into his schedule. Percy’s hand twitched to text Jason - _hey, gonna be late to track practice this afternoon -_ but right now he just had to wait it out. Jason would get it.

Malcolm suddenly choked, and his head fell to his hands. Percy sighed. The room grew dimmer, the only light coming in from the windows, as a cloud passed overhead. Maybe it’d rain?

“Malcolm, you spread yourself too thin,” the professor said softly, resting a hand on the small of his student’s back. “You’re a smart student. I’ve seen how you do on the tests, and I can see that you’re trying. But you need to choose your priorities, and it can’t be everything, okay?”

Malcolm nodded, unable to speak, tears dripping down his face. He sniffled.

“I’m so worried about college,” he sobbed after a second. He paused, taking deep breaths. “My mom went to an Ivy League on a full ride from some gifted organization, and I just-I just-” he rubbed his eyes on his sleeve.

“That’s okay, Malcolm. You’re not your mom. You don’t need to be. And what you’ve done so far? You should be proud of. But if you keep piling more and more on top of yourself, you’re gonna break, dude.” Percy had listened to valedictorian after valedictorian cry over the years, and he still didn’t know how quite to handle it. It never got easier. But at least he had more words now. More practice. A better understanding. “Here. Let’s go through all that you’re doing. Extracurriculars. I know you’re on Mock Trial. What else?”

It took two hours and another breakdown, but Percy Malcolm decided to drop some activities - the Environmental Club meetings twice a week, the school year Humane Society volunteering, the student tutoring. Next semester, he’d take regular economics, not AP. (“It’s a nap class. Don’t tell Mr. D I said that, but you could nap through it and get an A, Malcolm. You’ll be fine, you’ve got enough other APs.)

Malcolm headed home, eyes still red, but Percy cracked a few jokes and got him to smile. “Don’t be afraid to come back if you have any more issues,” he assured.

Jason waltzed in a minute later, clad in gym shorts and an old shirt, and ran his hands through his hair.

“You missed practice,” he commented. “Pole vaulters needed help. You know Hedge and I know jack about that.”

Percy shrugged. “Malcolm.”

“Oh. He finally break down?”

Percy nodded. “They always do.”

“Why don’t they ever come to _me_?”

“Because you’re not that kind of teacher,” Percy said, shrugging. “Track kids ask you more than they ask me, and god knows you’ve written more letters of recommendation than I can count.”

Jason rolled his eyes, walking over to Percy. He leaned over the desk, crowding into his personal space. “Whatever. We still on tomorrow?”

“Of course.” Percy flashed his too-bright smile up at him, and Jason grinned back.

 

\---

“You would not be _lieve_ what I saw last night,” Mitchell said. Leo rolled his eyes.

“A naked woman, finally?” the Latino suggested.

“Oh, shut it,” Calypso said, lightly hitting her friend. Crush. Whatever.

Mitchell laughed it off too. “Could suggest the same to you. But I was at the new Lord of the Rings movie, midnight showing, right? Well, you wouldn’t believe who was there.”

“Jesus hims-” Calypso smacked Leo again.

“Mr. Jackson and Grace! Together! On a date!”

“You sure it was a _date_?” Piper asked skeptically. “They probably hang out all the time. They’re just friends.”

“Yes, but they were _cosplaying_ too!”

“Yeah, well, they’re kinda dorks,” Leo pointed out.

“They shared a popcorn.”

“ _We_ share a popcorn whenever we see something.”

“Just let Mitchell believe,” Piper said.

 

\---

 

Piper and Leo were pretty excited that nobody stopped them from attending the faculty Christmas party. Probably because everyone was half-drunk and nobody _really_ cared.

They got the idea when Ms. Chase had made a few flippant comments about it during their calc final, and when Leo snarked about showing up, Ms. Chase basically dared him. And, well, Piper had to support her best friend in all his antics, no matter how stupid, and maybe she was spiting her dad some more for not being home that Christmas by avoiding him the week he was there, so…

Either way, she marked it down in her diary later as a rather unforgettable experience. No, it wasn’t crazy-crazy. Nobody stripped or got black-out drunk or anything else. Some trash talk was thrown around about some students, cake was served, Principal Chiron made a brief thank you speech, and, well, Mr. Grace and Mr. Jackson got a little bit past tipsy and even more handsy. With each other.

Piper and Leo gawked from their corner.

“Mitchell was right,” Piper loudly whispered a moment later.

“Fuck,” was Leo’s eloquent response.

 

\---

Jason had finished explaining the reading assignment when he noticed Piper’s hand shyly raised in the corner. Next to her, Calypso glared daggers.

“Piper?”

“Mr. Grace? Yeah, um, so this is off topic, but… are you married?”

A snigger spread throughout the class, like some kind of inside joke.

“Uh, no, Ms. McLean.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” More chuckles.

“I’m not sure how this is relevant.”

“It’s not.”

“Oh. Well, no.”

“What about a boyfriend?”

Leo Valdez started full-out guffawing, and Calypso’s anger turned to him instead.

“Ah, yes.” And he carried on teaching before she could ask who.

 

\---

 

Chiron frowned at the two teachers. He remembered back when they were merely students, himself just a history teacher, two stars of the school. Perseus and Jason stared back at him, both of their faces blank with confusion.

“We recently received a letter from a parent,” Chiron began, not wanting to say a single word. “They were concerned about their child being exposed to… an inappropriate relationship by their professors and being ‘encouraged’ to partake in what their parents did not believe in.”

Perseus blinked.

“So, as the principal, I am obligated to ask. Have you two displayed any form of inappropriate affection in front of students?”

The two gaped for a second before vehemently shaking their heads, their words spilling out over the others.

“We just started dating a couple months ago-”

“Keep it a secret from the students-”

“Piper asked the other day about-”

“Saw a student _outside_ of school at the movies-”

“I would never-”

“We would never-”

“Chiron, you _know_ that-”

Chiron held up a hand, and the two immediately quieted.

“That’s what I thought. I will take care of the situation from here.”

 

\---

 

Octavian _paid_ for his bullshit, Leo made sure of that.

Every word he said, every move he made, mocked, pranked, ruined. All done so innocently, it was impossible to track down the perpetrator. Calypso insisted he stop, he calm down, but Leo couldn’t. Not when his _favorite_ two teachers were in hot water because of that little prissy scrawny under-baked demon whelp was a goddamned _homophobe_ on top of everything else.

“It’s because Mr. Grace wouldn’t round his grade,” Leo exploded one day, jumping up from his seat. His friends glanced up from their lunches, all equally sullen. “I heard him whining about it last semester. He had an 88% and Mr. Grace wouldn’t round it.”

“ _Nobody_ would round an 88%,” Calypso stated, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah! This is ridiculous! And, like, remember freshman year when he blew up because he had to learn about _other religions_?” Leo demanded. “Good lord! I hate that kid!”

“We all do, Leo, but if you keep harassing him, you’re just going to get in trouble, too,” Piper said, a worried frown playing across her lips. Calypso gave her a grateful look.

“Yes,” she agreed. “And the last thing they want is for a student to get caught up in this, too.”

“A student _caused_ this! And besides, there’s no evidence that anything was me.”

“They all know it, though.”

 

\---

 

Piper scowled at the news. How had the story spread this far? A picture of Mr. Jackson and Mr. Grace standing side-by-side at a track meet, Jackson bent over, hands on his knees, face contorted in a roar of encouragement, Grace watching stoically with his arms crossed, back pin straight, lips pursed shut, came on display.

“The school board refuses to acknowledge the parents’ complaints as anything but an act of intolerance towards the LGBT community,” the reporter said. “Many are taking this as a far too political move for the school, and others still accuse Perseus Jackson and Jason Grace of being overly affectionate throughout the day. Stay tuned for an interview with a student at West High School.”

Piper almost screamed in frustration, marching back to the kitchen. Her dad wasn’t home, having left the night before for work and not returning. She grabbed a tub of ice cream before returning to  her favorite spot on the couch, throwing her feet over the back.

Malcolm came on screen, the ever-present dark circles under his eyes standing out against his pale face. Piper liked Malcolm. He was always kind, if a bit high strung.

“Mr. Jackson has always been nice to me,” he rambled, “and I never even _knew_ he and Mr. Grace were together until the complaints came out. I’ve had both of their classes before, and do cross country in the spring, so I see them together all the time, and never had they been anything more than friendly. Anyone in the school could tell you they’re friends. But never had they done anything out of line around me before.”

Piper smiled.

“Really, I feel that punishment against them would be unjust. Mr. Jackson is the exact kind of teacher high schools need more of-kind, supportive, with his number one concern always being his students. He always listened to me and supported me and helped me figure out my future. He taught me so much more than just biology. He served as a life coach some days, when I was down or upset or anything else, and I would be incredibly against any harm coming to him.” Malcolm tried to force a smile before the camera switched back to the reporter, this time next to Mr. Grace’s facebook profile picture - a selfie of him and Mr. Jackson in front of the Roman Colosseum, both smiling.

“Mr. Grace, in addition to coaching track and cross country, helps lead the West High School Gay-Straight alliance.” The reporter’s face was absolutely unreadable. Piper hated that about them. How did _she_ feel about the story? Did she even care that so many high schoolers were suffering over this? “However, he claims that it’s a student-run club, and he merely provides his classroom and extra guidance when needed. A member reports that he never lets the conversations grow overly inappropriate and keeps everyone on track to work towards the common goal of mutual understanding. The school board will continue their investigation throughout the rest of the week. Back to you, Chris.”

And on came the feel-good story of the night of a rescued cat. Piper groaned and clicked off the TV.

 

\---

 

Octavian scowled, arms crossed, bottom lip stuck out in an ugly pout. Even Calypso couldn’t help but smirked as she strode by, Leo at her side, who shamelessly pointed and laughed. He’d been suspended for a day for all the “bullying,” a light punishment compared to someone who Hedge actually hated would’ve received.

“Think he’ll switch schools?” Mitchell asked in a loud whisper as his friends congregated for lunch.

Piper shook her head. “Of course not. He has to stick around and whine some more.”

“True.”

 

\---

 

Leo unabashedly threw his arms around Mr. Jackson on the last day of school, showering thanks and tears. The professor looked down at the short Latino, smiling a tad.

“Of course, kid. You go do your thing at CalTech. You’ll do great, I guarantee it,” he said, patting Leo’s head.

“Send me an invitation to you and Mr. Grace’s marriage,” Leo sobbed into his shirt. At that, Mr. Jackson blushed and let go.

Piper was a bit more refined in her embrace, keeping it to a simple thank you and five-minute monologue about how grateful she was for everything he had done.

Calypso blushed and muttered a quick thanks. 

Malcolm? Cried.

 

\---

Leo grinned as he held out the envelope, admiring the way it shone in the sunlight. Fancey. Piper sat across from him in her backyard, a matching one in her hands.

“Sally Jackson,” Leo read. “What could you possibly have to say to us?”

Piper rolled her eyes and ripped hers open, pulling out the thick cardstock. Her jaw dropped.

Leo blinked at her. “What? What is it?”

“Open it!”

A picture of Mr. Grace and Mr. Jackson, hands locked with each others’, both in elegant suits, smiling brighter than the stars. Jackson leaned back, Grace obviously holding him up, his short blonde hair a sharp contrast against his friend’s shaggy gray-and-black mane.

“Join us for the union of Perseus Jackson and Jason Grace,” Piper read giddily, “June Seventeenth, Montauk. An outdoor wedding! On the _beach!_ Between _them!_ ”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Leo said, fingers folding up a scrap of the envelope. “Oh my god! He actually did it! I told him to invite me to their wedding and _two years later they’re getting married and we’re invited Piper oh my god-”_

“We need clothes! Dresses! Suits! I- who else was invited? Where even _is_ Montauk? What kind of gifts should we get them? I-oh my god Leo!”

\---

 

The sun seemed to gently embrace the couple at the altar, Mr. Jackson barefoot in his tux, Mr. Grace towering over him. Neither seemed to be listening to the pastor reading off vows, to the music, to absolutely anything. Seagulls cawed and waves lightly lapped against the hot sand, a breeze stirred Mr. Jackson’s hair.

It felt like ages before the pastor finally said, “you may kiss the groom,” and wow.

Piper had never seen a kiss like _that._

They were beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> why did i even write this
> 
> Anyways, some of this was hardcore inspired by the epic bromance between my school's track coaches. Everyone loves them. There's a history, english and physics teacher, the first two who literally do everything together and went and saw the midnight showing of a Hobbit movie. The physics teacher is retiring this year, and the history teacher basically told us all that we were going to treat "the man who he has to spend more time with than his own wife" with respect and love so he could have a good retirement or he would find a way to make us suffer. Literally, they are the best. All of them have made positive impacts on my life. (however they're not gay i don't ship them they are all happy with their wives they never see) Their bromance is going down in our high school history tho there's no way to stop it
> 
> Some of the conversations - naming a kid after a teacher in hopes they'll be like them, speculating on romances, random questioning - all that comes basically out of my own high school experiences, slightly twisted. I literally have no idea what possessed me to write this. I feel that it wanders pointlessly way too much, but whatever.


End file.
